Loss Aversion and Seller Behavior: Evidence from the Housing Market

S-Tier
Journal: Quarterly Journal of Economics
Year: 2001
Volume: 116
Issue: 4
Pages: 1233-1260

Score contribution per author:

4.022 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Data from downtown Boston in the 1990s show that loss aversion determines seller behavior in the housing market. Condominium owners subject to nominal losses 1) set higher asking prices of 25–35 percent of the difference between the property's expected selling price and their original purchase price; 2) attain higher selling prices of 3–18 percent of that difference; and 3) exhibit a much lower sale hazard than other sellers. The list price results are twice as large for owneroccupants as investors, but hold for both. These findings suggest that sellers are averse to realizing (nominal) losses and help explain the positive price-volume correlation in real estate markets.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:oup:qjecon:v:116:y:2001:i:4:p:1233-1260.
Journal Field
General
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-25